Improvement in rotary steam-engines



1. LEAVER -& 1'. wonky Rotary Steam Engines.

Patented July I, 1873.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN LEAVER AND JOHN WOOK, OF CANAL FULTON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN ROTARY STEAM-ENGINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 140,378, dated July 1,1873; application filed April 26, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

, Be it known that we, JOHN LEAVER and JOHN WVOOK, of Canal Fulton, inthe county of Stark and State of Ohio, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Rotary Steam-Engines; and the following'is afull, clear, and exact specification thereof, which will enable othersskilled in the art to make and use the said invention.

Our invention relates to certain improvements in the construction ofrotary engines for the purpose of obtaining a cheap and simple steammotor, which will give a more eifective result for a given piston areathan is usually obtained in reciprocating engines. Said inventionconsists in the combination, with a cylinder having a steam-chestthereon, of a concentric piston-wheel having removable piston-blades,with concave faces, said wheel, with its piston-blades, being tittedsteam-tight within the cylinder, and the several parts being so arrangedthat by the action of steam on the concave faces of the piston-bladesthe rotary motion is given to the piston-wheel and also so that thepistonblades, when worn, may be removed for repair or renewal, as ishereinafter more fully shown.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure l is a side view ot'our invention,with the cylinderhead removed. Fig 2 is a section of the same throughthe line y y, with a portion of the wheel broken out to show the grooveon the inside face of the cylinder. Fig. 3 is a plan of our invention,with a part of the cap of the steam-chest broken out to show the inletports.

A is the cylinder, and a a are the cylinderheads, one of which may becast with the cylinder, or both may be made separate, so as to beremoved to adjust the parts within. B B is a steam-chest cast as a partof the cylinder or bolted to it, and is divided by a partition, D, intotwo parts, the steam being cut ofi from one or the other accordin g tothe direction in which it is desired to turn the piston-wheel. G G arethe inlet-ports through which the steam rushes from the steam-chest toact on. the piston-blades. E is a piston-wheel secured on the shaft G,which is journaled in the cylinder-heads a a,-and having piston-blades FF so fitted in dovetail grooves in the rim K that the worn blades may bepushed out and new ones inserted. The piston-blades F F are made withconcave faces, against which the steam acts to turn the piston-wheel. HH are grooves in the inner faces of the cylinder running-from the inletports 0 O to within a short distance of the exhaust-port I, which is atthe bottom of the cylinder, and by which the steam is kept continuallyacting on the piston-blades until they have passed over nearly a halfcircle. I is the exhaust-port by which the steam coming from eitherinlet-port escapes.

On steam being let into the side B, and cut off from the side B of thesteam-chest, it rushes through the port 0 and strikes the upper concaveface of the piston-blade F, thereby causing the piston-wheel to turn,and at the same time it forces its way along the groove 11 to keep aconstant pressure on the pistonblades that have passed the inlet-port,till said blades have passed the end of the groove, when they have onlythe expansive power of the steam shut up between them to act on them.

To reverse the engine, the steam is shut oif from the side B of thesteam-chest and let into the side B, when it acts in the same way toturn the wheel in an opposite direction.

\Vhat we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, with a cylinder having a steam-chest thereon, of aconcentric pistonwheel having removable piston-blades, with concavefaces secured to the rim thereof, the several parts being constructedand arranged substantially as and for the purpose specified.

As evidence of the foregoing specification witness our hands this 16thday of April, A. D.

JOHN LEAVER. JOHN WOOK. Witnesses:

F. E. OAsE, CHAS. W. Benson.

